


Rumours, Boys, and Swords

by Penbirdy



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-13
Updated: 2011-03-13
Packaged: 2017-10-16 22:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/170000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penbirdy/pseuds/Penbirdy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>KMM Prompt:</p><p>Arthur/Merlin</p><p>Arthur teaches Merlin how to use a sword.</p><p>Extra points for closeness (i.e Arthur standing behind Merlin shadowing his movements and whispering encouragements and other things in his ear) and the fluffier the better :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rumours, Boys, and Swords

**Author's Note:**

> The sweetest fluff I can fluff.

Leon’s shoulders were throbbing painfullyby the time Arthur released them from today’s training session. And that was a good thing. With Arthur’s sessions, usually the only thing that didn’t hurt was his hair. The knight’s squire had already removed his armour, and finally Leon felt like he could breathe and work the tension out of his aching muscles. Sitting on a bench in his tent, he looked out onto the training yard. Arthur was still on the training grounds; his face in concentration as he rotated his sword in his hand, circulating his wrist while the sword moved as if on its own accord. Leon knew of Arthur’s skill with a sword. He’d fought with him and seen its deadly force first hand.

 

Arthur’s manservant, Merlin, was attempting to coach Arthur off the field from the looks of it. Leon chuckled to himself. Arthur’s manservant was an anomaly in the court. Arthur tolerated things from him that would have had any other servant banished or sent to the dungeons for years. He tried not to think about their relationship for most part… never formed any opinions on it either. Like he said, he knew Arthur’s great skill with a sword, he was not stupid.

  
He did get curious sometimes, though. Mostly because he’d never thought of Arthur as the type to… well… there were rumours, of course. The court thrives on them. In the barracks he may have overheard a conversation or two from the young knights who hadn’t quite learned not to pay attention to the chambermaids and their gossip yet. Things like, “I heard from Emily who heard from Lillian that Ester found a red neck kerchief in Arthur’s bed linens in the wash.” Or, “Miriam said she saw the prince give Merlin a fur lined coat for the coming winter. Not a hand-me-down either, a new one…” Usually Leon would make a noise before it escalated and the knights would get back to business instead of gossiping about their prince.

 

Leon was always of mind to look the other way when it came to Arthur and his manservant. There were things that he was privy to see that those chambermaids and young knights would never. Like on hunts, where it was just Arthur, a handful of trusted knights and squires, and Merlin. Merlin did not sleep with the other servants as customary. He slept next to Arthur, the edges of their bedrolls overlapping each other. Or on scouting trips, where most servants never came due to danger, there was Merlin: armour-less and without the skill of a sword. Yet Merlin never cowered in fear; he was always at Arthur’s side, ready to die with his master. He may not be a knight, but Leon half expected he had the heart of one, answering only part of what Arthur saw in the scrawny boy.

 

Arthur was currently trying to hit Merlin with the flat end of his sword while Merlin was flailing as if trying to swat a fly. Leon caught himself marvelling at the unrestrained smile on Arthur’s face. Before the arrival of Merlin, those careless smiles were few and far between, something only to be glimpsed on hunting trips or after a tourney; now, they were practically an everyday occurrence. It still shocked him a bit.Finally lowering his sword, Arthur offered a look that Leon couldn’t quite decipher, but Merlin seemed to easily recognize it and wandered closer to where Arthur was standing. Merlin crossed his arms over his chest, a pout on his mouth, making Arthur chuckle and tug on Merlin’s elbow, bringing him closer to his side. It looked intimate. Leon would blush if he could… because he couldn’t; he was a deadly killing machine. He definitely was not blushing. Arthur handed over his sword to Merlin, keeping him close with a hand at his elbow. Merlin gave him a soft look after Arthur leaned in to whisper something and turned around facing one of their practice dummies. Merlin held up the sword, Arthur at his back, both hands wrapping around Merlin’s small frame to hold his wrists. Arthur whispered something in Merlin’s ear and Merlin nodded, raising the sword as Arthur lowered his hands, swinging it at the dummy.

 

Leon could point out all the mistakes Merlin made in his form right away. He half expected Arthur to swing Merlin around and scold him for his mistake, as he would do with his knights in training if they’d done what Merlin did. Instead Arthur positioned one hand on Merlin’s hip, nudged Merlin’s legs wider with one foot to correct his stance and pushed at Merlin’s elbow to raise the sword again. This time the blow was slightly better. Only slightly. It was still Merlin, after all. Leon watched as Arthur turned Merlin around to get the sword, laughing at Merlin, who smiled as if he had defeated a dragon instead of a straw stuffed dummy tied to a stick.

 

Arthur walked past Merlin and headed to the castle, turning around laughing as Merlin shouted “Oi!” in reply to something Arthur had said when he walked by. Leon shook his head and chuckled to himself. They were a pair those two. He really tried not to think about their relationship for the most part… never offer any opinions on it either. But if he _did_ think about it, he’d probably think something along the lines of, _wherever a man with so many burdens finds happiness, I do not judge._

_  
_

Leon looked up just in time to see Arthur and Merlin climb up a narrow staircase entering the castle. As the dim light of the secluded space washed over them, Arthur slung his arm around Merlin’s waist and Merlin draped his hand across Arthur's shoulder. In a quick moment he probably would have missed if he'd blinked, their heads dipped towards one another before releasing their hold and entering the castle. Leon let out a loud laugh that startled the squire polishing his armour in the corner of the tent. He reined his laughter in and shook his head… they really _were_ a pair, those two.

 

  
_fin_


End file.
